Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor

Holy Roman Emperor from 1209 to 1218

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Lived 1175–1218, aged 43Germany

Germany Historical Figures

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55 languages
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Era
1175–1218
Aged 43

Summary

Updated 2026-06-21

The only Welf to ever wear the imperial crown, raised in England by his uncle Richard the Lionheart, crowned emperor in Rome, then excommunicated, crushed at Bouvines, and abandoned—all within six years.

Biography

About

Otto spent his early years in England and France as a follower of Richard the Lionheart, who made him Count of Poitou in 1196. With Richard's backing, he was elected King of Germany by one faction in 1198, triggering a decade of civil war that ended only when his rival Philip of Swabia was assassinated in 1208. He marched to Italy in 1209 and Pope Innocent III crowned him emperor, but the alliance shattered within a year when Otto moved to absorb the Kingdom of Sicily into the Empire. Innocent excommunicated him in 1210. Otto threw in with England against France and rode to catastrophic defeat…

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